Originally posted on jerseypilots.com
The Jersey Pilots lost their season and home opener
3-1 to the North Jersey Eagles at Snyder Ave Park.
All of the Eagles runs came in the second inning.
North Jersey catcher Zachary Tondi led off the inning with a single and was
soon joined on the base paths by John Kukura, who walked. North Jersey right
fielder Shane Woelfel then ripped a double into gap, scoring both baserunners.
Woelfel then scored on a Ryan Rivera single.
The Pilots scored their only run in the eighth
inning. After being no-hit for the first 7 1/3 innings, Pilots first baseman
Greg Kocinski and left fielder Ryan Jennings had back-to-back singles to put
runners on first and third with one out. During the next at-bat, Jennings broke
for second base. Eagles catcher Frank Mayo threw the ball to second base, where
the throw was bobbled. Jennings was safe at second and Kocinski, who broke from
third base on the throw from Mayo,
was safe at home.
Jersey had only two hits on the day, but did draw
five walks. Pilots starting pitcher Tommy Giunta went 5 1/3 innings and picked
up the loss. Catchers Vic Konstantinovsky and Stephen Petriello both threw out
a runner attempting to steal.
The winning pitcher for North Jersey was Mike
Sgaramella. He threw three innings of no-hit ball, but did surrender four
walks. Daniel Rajkowski also threw three innings of no hit-ball in relief.
Jordan Fontenelle closed the game out for the Eagles and had three strikeouts
in his one inning of work.
The Pilots fall to 0-1 on the season, while the
Eagles improve to 1-2.
The next game for the Pilots is on Sunday with a
game time of 6:30 p.m. It is Ben Smookler Day in honor of the Pilots late owner
and general manager. There will be pre-game ceremony honoring Smooker. For
updates on the Pilots, check jerseypilots.com and the team’s twitter page:
@ACBL_Pilots.
